Wrongly advertised job

[Charlotte4]

Hi, Just wondering if anyone can help. I use an organisation to help me advertise and recruit a job vacancy. The lady I spoke to did not listen to what I wanted and advertised the wrong details and the wrong salary. I asked her to amend the advert a couple of weeks ago which she agreed too. She has just informed me that she didn't amend it and stated that legally she could not. She has sent me all the applications and of course they are full of unsuitable candidates. I really don't know where I stand legally as I have had to pay money to the recruitment agency for their help and realistically I am not going to be able to hire any of the candidates. The lady at the recruitment agency implied that I could not legally just re advertise the post.

[des8]

Hi and welcome

could you post up a copy of your contract with the agency?

Did you only give details verbally to the agency or did you confirm your requirements in writing?
Do you have a recording of the conversation/
Did they not give you the opportunity to check all was correct in the advert?

Did she say why she could not amend the advert?

How much did it cost you, including costs (if any) of responding to the applicants?..

Note that as it is the sunny weekend of the year responses might be rather sparse until next week

[Charlotte4]

Hi,
Thank you for your response. I have a disability and social services give me a personal budget to hire my own Personal Assistants. I have an agreement in writing from Social Services on how I can spend my money. It was agreed that I could have 2 P.A's, 1 at a higher rate to assist with my more complex needs. As part of my personal budget I have a large amount of money allocated to the Rowan Organisation to assist me with recruiting my P.A's.

On Rowan's website they state "Initial Consultation, A free ˝ hour consultation to determine what support you require. This can be done via e-mail or by phone, and in conjunction with a practitioner if you prefer."

A lady from Rowan came to my home and I stated that I needed 2 P.A's I stated their duties including some quite complex ones ( I have been hiring P.A's for 5 years with other recruitment agencies so I know what I am doing) she listened, didn't seem very enthusiastic but agreed and left.

She then e-mailed me a copy of a job description she had put together which advertised the position for only 1 P.A at the lower rate and there was no mention of the more complex duties.

Before I could agree she posted the advert on an employment website

I rang up and complained and she verbally agreed that she would amend the advert

I rang her up last week as I could not find the advert on the website. She stated that she had not been able to amend the advert as legally she was not allowed to. She then stated that the posted advert had come to an end and that she legally had to send me all the applications and that I should consider some of the candidates for interviewing.

I received the applications, they are generally unsuitable, a couple stand out, however, the candidates are not aware of my more complex needs as this was not advertised.

I have been doing this for five years and am aware that normally I would have a much larger selection of stronger candidates.

My next anxiety is what happens at interview process am I legally allowed to explain that the post should in fact be two posts and also some important details have been missed off?

I am quite happy for 1 P.A to do both roles but it needs to be very clear that the roles are separate and there are two different rates of pay.

I have contacted Social Services but they are typically very busy and often don't want to get too involved once a personal budget has been agreed. I imagine their response will be "You really need to talk to Rowan"! I am very frustrated as I urgently need support.

I hope I have made my post clear, there is quite a lot of information as various agencies are involved.

[des8]

My initial reaction would be to draft the advertisement(s) according to your requirements and,writing to the head honcho explain how poorly they had dealt with your case and ask her nicely to relist free of charge with your submitted wording.
If they decline you might be able to take it further by claiming back the fees paid so you could readvertise elsewhere, but wait and see what they come back with.

Mrs. Debbie Houghton CEO - Chief Executive Officer
Eliot Park Innovation Centre
Barling Way
Nuneaton Warwickshire CV10 7RH


"My next anxiety is what happens at interview process am I legally allowed to explain that the post should in fact be two posts and also some important details have been missed off?

I am quite happy for 1 P.A to do both roles but it needs to be very clear that the roles are separate and there are two different rates of pay. "

I would certainly tell any interviewees that the Rowan Organisation had cocked up, and give them fullest details about he role(s). It would be unfair not to do so

[Charlotte4]

Thanks for your good advice, I will start drafting my version of my job description this evening.